If the launch of ACS Recruitment, with a single desk and a laptop, seems like a fairly ordinary start – the ten years since then have seen the firm make extraordinary progress into one of the most innovative recruitment companies in the region.
Early last year, a management buyout of the company by Hellie and Chris Wright was the latest in a series of milestones, a culmination of the gradual building of a service that still places temporary workers with some of the leading logistics names in the region, but which has evolved into something so much more.
Hellie, who started the business with a desk, a phone and a laptop within ACS Office Solutions on the Brackmills Industrial Estate, said: “Our first peak period, in the run-up to Christmas 2011, saw us place 150 staff. In the same period last year, that figure went beyond 1,500 staff, which is an indication of how far we have come.
“The aim was always to transform recruitment locally and we feel we have done that. We have a fantastic team here and everyone at ACS Recruitment understands the need to be creative in the way we do things and especially now, since the management buyout, we’re more determined than ever to push forward and make our mark in the industry.”
ACS Recruitment provides permanent, part-time and temporary solutions for the industrial and commercial sectors. Its packages are bespoke to each client, regardless of the type of work or volume of staff required, and the team is always ready to adapt to a change in requirements.
Experience and knowledge in the logistics sector means the team can respond to any circumstances. Key parts of the client base, logistics and online retail have brought their own challenges of late, with e-commerce flourishing during the pandemic and home shopping hitting unprecedented levels – leaving retailers with additional staffing need similar to those associated with Christmas and Black Friday trading.
ACS Recruitment was in an excellent position to respond, with an excellent track record in the sector.
The desktop start in 2011 soon saw steady growth, attracting the likes of The White Company and Dr Martens, providing ACS Recruitment with the impetus to open offices in Wellingborough Road, Northampton, and in Kettering in 2013.
Three years later, national recruitment began and the following year URBN became the first on-site recruitment partnership, followed by similar arrangements with John Lewis in both Northampton and Milton Keynes, Paperchase and Dr Martens in Rushden and Peterborough.
Recently, an innovative scheme to develop home-grown talent within its OnSites division has proven beneficial for both the company, and its clients.
The past 18 months has seen a trial of a Supertemp development journey, which recognises progressive talent within its candidate pool, where a ‘key’ temp would be asked to support the account manager in day-to-day engagement. For a number of Supertemps, this enhanced role has led to further development, into account manager and then on to regional management roles.
And 2020 also threw up some further impressive statistics.
Among the highlights were onboarding 300 home workers for a commercial client as well as increasing its own internal head count by 12, bringing the team to 43 people across three counties. In addition, the company moved its candidate registration process fully online, invested heavily in new infrastructure including a CRM system, and expanded into a second Northampton office. As part of its commitment to the local community, ACS Recruitment’s advent event saw donations to 25 separate charities during December.
Chris Wright said: “Celebrating ACS Recruitment’s tenth anniversary, and a year as sole owners we are very proud that we have not only grown and flourished, developing the business into what it is today, but also that we have ridden out the most difficult year most of us will ever have to face and come out stronger than ever.”
To find out more about ACS Recruitment, call 01604 704058 or visit www.acsrecruitment.co.uk
